80-Year Schism Comes to an End
MOSCOW, MAY 21, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The unity of the Russian church has been restored after an 80-year schism, announced Moscow Patriarch Alexy II during a Mass celebrating the end of the divide.
The Associated Press is reporting that leaders of the Russian Orthodox faith signed a pact Thursday, healing the decades-old rift between the Russian Orthodox Church and an offshoot, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, organized after the Bolshevik Revolution.
Patriarch Alexy II, the leader of the main Russian Orthodox Church, led the ceremony at the Christ the Savior Cathedral, thanking President Vladimir Putin, who attended the celebration, for his help to end the split through meetings with church leaders.
The reunion agreement, called the Canonical Communion Act, was later signed by Alexy II along with Metropolitan Laurus, head of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.
The reunion act will not be a merger, as both entities will maintain administrative control over their parishes. The clergy, however, will be able to preside over Masses in both churches with parishioners being able to share Communion.
The Russian Church Abroad, based in New York, has about 480,000 members while the Moscow Patriarchate, has 90 million members, not including millions of believers in other countries of the former Soviet Union.
Code: ZE07152116
Date: 2007-05-21